Debate contribution: Social Security Reform and Economic Inactivity

Debate contribution by Mr Patsy McGlone on 1 April 2025.

MLA: Mr Patsy McGlone
Party at the time: Social Democratic and Labour Party
Date: 1 April 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Social Security Reform and Economic Inactivity
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4877163

Text

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
One thing in the DUP amendment is slightly unclear to me. There is a slight anomaly where it:
"acknowledges calls for tax increases for the superwealthy but believes that any such policy must be fair, deliverable and avoid a detrimental impact on savings or investment".
As any of us who has been there knows, income support, housing benefit and universal credit are all means-tested. I am not really sure how you avoid a detrimental impact on savings or investment without taking savings or investment into account. The clue is in the title: it is a means-tested benefit. I am not sure where that one is going. One key element that needs to be emphasised and re-emphasised time and time again is this: the proposals, as we have read them, will be detrimental not only to PIP, DLA and, indeed, universal credit recipients but to those who, on foot of a disability, whether they receive employment and support allowance, PIP or DLA, get passported benefits. Those passported benefits are the clue to it all. People will be deprived not only of PIP and income from that side of things but of those passported benefits. Another element that has been mentioned is our conflict and the legacy issues that have been passed to people in many families, principally but not exclusively in mental health problems; some people are severely disabled. That has to be taken into account. However, there is another thing that we need to look at. Any of us who deal with people in our constituency offices will notice, as I have, a transformation in the amount and type of work that comes in our direction. In my constituency office, my people and I are personally dealing with people's medical problems to a degree that would normally be for a GP practice; there has been a huge increase in that. People on waiting lists, people in severe pain and people awaiting serious operations are devouring painkilling tablets. Maybe as a consequence of taking painkilling tablets, they are taking other tablets for their stomach. As a consequence of that, they face hardship at home, surely, and a lot of anxiety, for which they take tablets too. Those people cannot go back to work. They simply cannot get back into the workforce unless they have had the necessary operations. The key to that is health. That does not apply to everyone, but it is the key in many cases. People with those conditions want to get back to work. They want to get back into their daily routine. They physically and, in many cases, as a consequence of their physical health, mentally cannot get back into the workforce. That is a key point. I am sure that the Minister appreciates that and has talked about it. We talk a lot about inclusive workplaces and getting people off welfare — that is true — but we have to face the acute realities of people's health.
The taxation issue is separate from benefits, but the point that I emphasised was that the DUP amendment focuses on savings. As you know as well as the rest of us — probably better in some instances — that is about a means-tested benefit. You cannot just say to someone, "You have a hundred grand in the bank, but, at the same time, you can have your housing benefit"; that is unfair. Many issues have been raised, including housing rights, welfare cuts and the problems that we have with them, their human impact, radical reform and tax evasion. My colleague Mark referred to the billions being spent on defence while, through the proposed benefit cuts, bombarding those who are vulnerable and weak with financial cuts. Welfare is a devolved matter; that point was also made by my colleague. Brian referred to the funding required to mitigate the problems and about protection of the most vulnerable in society. He referred to fraud. Again, I make the point that there is fraud — we accept that there is — but the reduction in fraud will not deal with the major problems out there of poverty and of people facing major health problems and disabilities. Presenting it almost exclusively as a fraud issue will not weather it. Colm Gildernew referred to the Tories being replaced by red Tories. I absolutely accept Colm's point that what they are doing — to farmers, to pensioners, to people who are on benefits — is cruel. He referred to the trans-generational impact of the Troubles in the North and to 114,000 people falling further into poverty.
Andy Allen referred to the pension credit issue.
I fully support, of course, my amendment.

784 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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